IR institutions to stabilize the crisis

*Paper submitted to Prof. Ofreneo, Industrial Relations 289, UP-SOLAIR

Industrial Relations (IR) Institutions (e.g., unions, labor laws, employers organizations, etc.) are generally products of the times. Often a crisis gives birth to new institutions meant to contain the crisis and stabilize the situation, e.g., Industrial Peace Act of 1953 and Minimum Wage Act of 1952 at the height of the anti-Communist campaign in the early 1950s. With the present global economic crisis, what IR institutions do you think can and should b developed to stabilize the crisis?

In 1997-1998, Asia’s economic "tigers" were hit by a financial crisis. This crisis presented an opportunity for affected countries to build consensus on the policies required to renew economic growth through tripartism and social dialogue. The Korea Tripartite Commission, for instance, was compelled to contribute to economic restructuring and to involve social partners in the revision of Korean labor law. In Singapore, tripartite institutions have been instrumental in articulating conflicting interests among parties and in formulating and implementing social and economic policies. Their government also adopted various employee involvement systems such as work excellence committees, work improvement teams and quality control circles. Deficiencies in Indonesia’s industrial relations system were also put on the spot and efforts to promote social dialogue were utilized as a way of dealing with the crisis.

One IR institution that seems to have helped stabilize the Asian financial crisis of 1997-1998 is the use of social dialogue among IR actors. National and regional tripartite bodies were established and reformed, bipartite consultations in enterprises were introduced, a labor dispute settlement system was created, labor courts were created, and labor law was reformed in close consultation with the social partners.

It seems that institutionalizing social dialogue among IR actors (i.e., governments, workers and employers) will continue to be a crucial factor in stabilizing the current global economic crisis.
The global economic recession, which begun with consumption and production collapsing in the United States, European Union and Japan, has resulted in global increase in unemployment, poverty and inequality and the continuing collapse of enterprises.

The Philippines was not spared from the crisis. As then Economic Planning Secretary Ralph Recto explained, the country is dependent on advanced economies for exports and remittances from overseas Filipino workers, and clients of business process outsourcing companies are also mostly coming from the United States and Europe.

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) initiated efforts to help the economy and the Filipino workers particularly the vulnerable ones cope with the global economic crisis. Measures focusing on investments in public infrastructure projects coupled with the implementation of the Comprehensive Livelihood and Emergency Employment Program or CLEEP (the government's flagship assistance program that provides emergency employment, funding, and livelihood assistance to affected workers) and job preservation efforts have apparently buttressed the country's capability to cope with the adverse effects of the global crisis. DOLE also established a registry of skills aimed at helping to identify and plan future responses, set up a hotline that addresses concerns of displaced workers, and provided training, livelihood assistance, job placement referral services and reintegration programs for returning OFWs.

The International Labour Organization (ILO) declared that the world is now facing a "global jobs crisis" that threatens to add 50 million people to the ranks of the unemployed in 2009. It could also push 200 million workers, mostly in developing countries, into extreme poverty. ILO is therefore promoting the relevance of the Decent Work Agenda, specifically its current measures to promote job creation, deepening and expanding social protection and more use of social dialogue. Policy recommendations include:

• Wider coverage of unemployment benefits and insurance schemes, equipping redundant workers with new skills, and protecting pensions from devastating declines in financial markets
• Public investment in infrastructure and housing, community infrastructure and green jobs, including through emergency public works; support to small and medium enterprises
• Social dialogue at the enterprise, sectoral, and national levels

Tripartite dialogue with employers and workers’ organizations should therefore play a central role in addressing the economic crisis, and in developing policy responses. This should include a commitment to social dialogue and strong labor market institutions, as well as wage-led increase in aggregate demand, social protection and collective bargaining. It also means no interference by employers, when workers organize themselves and represent their interests collectively. And it also entails coordinating measures internationally, so that no one is left out or left behind.

Strengthening the institutionalization of social dialogue among IR actors could lead to effective remedies such as stakeholders becoming proactive in finding solutions in ensuring the rapid recovery of employment and its accompanying social protection. Inputs from government leaders, employers and workers should be considered to enhance specific responses to the crisis on the national and at the enterprise level. For example, this could lead to subsidizing lost potential wages of workers by supporting shorter working hours to prevent massive layoffs. Some workers may agree to pay cuts to retain their jobs.

ILO has also recently emphasized the importance of collective bargaining in this time of crisis as a tool for negotiating social justice, as ILO Convention No. 98 on the Right to Organize and Collective Bargaining marks its 60th anniversary this year. While much has changed since the Convention was adopted in 1949, collective bargaining remains a fundamental right, an important tool to improve incomes and working conditions, and advance social justice.

It is worth noting that during the general economic depression in the 1930s, many governments instituted measures to extend collective agreements and protect collective bargaining from being undermined by intense cost-based competition. Established collective bargaining practices were also an element that allowed the Republic of Korea to weather the Asian financial crisis in the late 1990s and enabled South Africa to make a relatively peaceful transition into the post-apartheid era.

ILO standards promote collective bargaining and help to ensure that good labor relations benefit everyone. It promotes the utilization of machinery for voluntary negotiation between employers and workers, with a view to the regulation of terms and conditions of employment by means of collective agreements. It remains an important tool with which to improve incomes and working conditions and advance social justice. Through collective bargaining, innovative means are being found to address contemporary labor market challenges such as increasing employment insecurity and rising inequality.

Current efforts to stem the global economic and jobs crisis call for the strengthening of mechanisms for social dialogue, including collective bargaining. Collective bargaining can play an important role as part of a broader crisis response, enabling enterprises and trade unions to find practical ways to save jobs while at the same time facilitating the adaptability and long term sustainability of enterprises. This can be beneficial for both enterprises seeking to increase their flexibility – and workers seeking to share the benefits of productivity gains and balance work and family life.


References:

Efforts to help Filipino workers cope with crisis paying off
DOLE, November 11, 2009

Labor programs help workers cope with global meltdown - DOLE
GMANews.TV, 12/27/2008

Negotiating for social justice: Collective bargaining in times of crisis
ILO Feature Article, 19 November 2009

Social dialogue in times of crisis: what we can learn from the past? (Part 3 : The Asian financial crisis of 1997 - 1998)
ILO Feature Story by Ludek Rychly, 29 May 2009

The Global Jobs Pact: Helping Asia and the Pacific Recover from the Unemployment Crisis
An interview with Sachiko Yamamoto, ILO Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific, ILO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific
ILO Feature Story, 15 July 2009

The Value of Work

*Reaction Paper submitted to Prof. Ofreneo, IR 289

In analyzing the value of work, I am reminded of an anecdote that would best illustrate varied perspectives:

Three men are found smashing boulders with iron hammers. When asked what they are doing, the first man says, "Breaking big rocks into little rocks." The second man says, "Feeding my family." The third man says, "Building a cathedral."

It appears that the third man, the one who saw each hammer blow as contributing to the construction of a cathedral, puts some degree of value in work that others merely see as a means to an end. Perhaps he sees his work as a calling and derives satisfaction from the work itself.

Some people value their work only inasmuch as it is a source of income that enables the fulfillment of desired outcomes and activities, such as being able to support a family or cope with the demands of society. Job satisfaction therefore comes primarily from the income earned.

The International Labor Organization (ILO) values decent work or “work that is productive and delivers a fair income, security in the workplace and social protection for families, better prospects for personal development and social integration, freedom for people to express their concerns, organize and participate in the decisions that affect their lives and equality of opportunity and treatment for all women and men.” ILO programs strive to achieve the goal of decent work by finding solutions to what they call “decent work deficits” such as: unemployment and underemployment, poor quality and unproductive jobs, unsafe work and insecure income, rights which are denied, gender inequality, migrant workers who are exploited, lack of representation and voice, and inadequate protection and solidarity in the face of disease, disability and old age.

Decent work, as ILO explains it, sums up the many ways that an individual values work. An individual may value opportunity and income primarily in his work. He may also place a high value on rights, fairness, voice and recognition. He may aspire for family stability and personal development.

I will not elaborate anymore on how individuals may value such factors differently, and instead cite the interesting advocacy of a group called CLAWS or Creating Livable Alternatives to Wage Slavery.

CLAWS is a pro-leisure and anti-wage-slavery group of people dedicated to exploring the question: “why work?” Their website provides information, support, and resources for those looking for alternatives to traditional employment.

While CLAWS is not against “work” per se, they feel that people are now working long hours and most are not happy in their jobs. Their vision: “a world where everyone spends their days doing what they love, while all their needs are met, with ease, abundance and joy. Stress, strain, struggle and guilt are unknown and there is no concept of ‘work.’ All activity is experienced as play.”

In defining “wage slavery,” CLAWS point to individuals who feel trapped by forces beyond their control, trapped in a mindless job, for the sake of money, status or recognition. They complain that they never seem to have the time for what's really important to them, because their jobs take so much energy and focus that they hardly have anything left over.

They attempt to follow the typical route of going to school, getting good grades, landing a “good” job, making lots of money, buying a house and a car, having a beautiful family, and being “successful.” They plod along day to day, sometimes dreading getting out of bed in the morning. They work hard and hoping for the next promotion, waiting for the day when they can quit their dull jobs, and finally live their lives. Everything gets put on hold until they have more time or more money. Meanwhile, life passes them by. To them CLAWS says: You do not have to live your life that way.

CLAWS criticizes the mindset that results in people working against their will, and believing there is no other way to “survive,” which results in taking jobs out of joyless obligation, need for money, coercion, or a desire to “get ahead.” They seek to abolish “wage slavery” in which individuals think of work not just as effort expended in a productive process, but as a "necessary evil" - in other words, work is what they have to do so they can support themselves. They think of their job as something they would rather not do if it weren't for the money.

CLAWS’ advocacy may sound extreme, but my point here is that people need to put/find value in their work if they wish to live happy and meaningful lives. Rather than simply valuing their work as a job, a means to an end, or a “necessarily evil,” they can perhaps follow these steps as suggested by Jerry Lopper in his article A Path to Happiness Through Meaningful Work.

• Recognizing the greater good resulting from the work. A person's routine responsibilities in a hospital can take on greater meaning by recognizing the hospital's role in returning people to good health.
• Recognizing one's role in the larger organization. A person responsible for maintaining a home might see that a well maintained home provides a stable base for the family's health, safety, and growth.
• Focusing on the relationships involved in the work. A person providing child care services might see the work as enabling the children's parents to hold jobs with confidence in the children's safety.